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Barkingside racer Scott Malvern produced a masterful display to claim the 2013 Walter Hayes Trophy at Silverstone last weekend coming out on top of an entry of almost 120 drivers including the highly rated Nick Tandy & Joey Foster.

Making his debut in the annual end of season extravaganza Scott driving for The Kevin Mills Racing Team took dominant wins in his heat, semi-final, and Grand Final.

Qualifying third for his heat in the very tricky conditions of fog and a greasy track early on Saturday morning, Scott took just two corners to make into the lead in what was considered to be the toughest qualifying heat of the whole event such was its list of potential overall event winners. It looked as though Scott’s victory train could be derailed as he’d opted for a full dry set up and it started to rain heavily from lap 2 onwards. But Scott remained in control driving a faultless race to win by a margin of 1.4 seconds setting fastest lap of the race in the process.
Better was to come in the Sunday lunchtime semi-final where he started from pole position from a full grid of 36 cars. In sunny, dry & cold conditions resisting an early challenge from three time event winner Joey Foster he stretched his lead to a 2.6 second margin by the end of the race again setting the fastest lap of the race.

In pole position for the grand-final, it initially looked as though Scott may face a stiff challenge from Irish driver Kevin O’Hara as the two began to gap the rest of the field but after just two racing laps the red flags were out and the race was stopped to clear a multiple car pile-up at Copse corner.

A lengthy delay ensued while the debris was cleared and the cars re-gridded for the restart. Scott made a superb start quickly pulling a gap on the rest of the field as a major squabble went on behind in the battle for second place. Scott was never challenged and drove off into the distance winning by a very impressive margin of 8.7 seconds and setting the fastest lap of the race and the day on his final lap.

Scott delighted with his win commented afterwards “It’s fantastic to win this event with all the big names in it at the end of what has been a frustrating season with no regular drive. I’m hoping this will remind people that I’m still around and what I’m capable of and will hopefully lead to better things for 2014. A big thank you to Contract Lift Solutions, Informu Solutions, Laserfiche, MIR & Baines Leasing for their help in getting me here”

It wasn’t the dream comeback win to Formula Ford 1600, in the Bert Ray Memorial Trophy at Brands Hatch, that Barkingside’s Scott Malvern had hoped for but it was oh so close with Scott trailing winner Oliver White by less than a tenth of a second at the chequered flag. Scott also had the consolation of bagging the fastest lap of the race.

A win was always going to be a big ask for Scott in an unfamiliar car against the series regulars and with just 30 minutes pre-event practice to familiarise himself which unfortunately was shortened even more by stoppages. But an encouraging performance in qualifying placed him third (out of 22 cars) on the starting grid, all be it just over half a second off of pole sitter and series front runner Josh Barnett. Improvements made to the car before the race saw that deficit completely eradicated.

Scott said “the lack practice didn’t help so we only really got to grips with the car during the fifteen minute qualifying session and we knew then that it was geared incorrectly and had some set up issues. Unfortunately we couldn’t do anything about the gear ratios as the team didn’t have the correct ones but we made some positive changes elsewhere and considering we ran on old tyres as well against new rubber for most of the others it wasn’t a bad showing. It was nice to get fastest lap and I could’ve got the win but Oliver was being very forceful and made contact every time I drew alongside (see photo). I was conscious of the fact that I was in a loaned car so I didn’t want to risk potentially expensive damage.”

“Not sure what I’ll be up to next but I’ve had a couple of interesting offers on the back of the performance this weekend so I will be considering those. I’d really to thank everyone who supported me at this event especially Contract Lift Solutions Ltd and Laserfiche Electronic Document Solutions and to Souley Motorsport for letting me use their car. I’d also like to thank James Beckett for running this great (Champion of Brands) series which really deserves to be supported. I hope I get the opportunity to return”

It was a return to winning ways for Barkingside’s Scott Malvern in his first race for almost four months. Scott received a surprise last minute call up to compete in the guest car in the Ariel Atom Cup at Oulton Park in Cheshire last Saturday. He was thrown in at the deep having to learn how to familiarise himself with the space frame two seater in the twenty minute morning qualifying session against the championship regulars who had all had the benefit of testing at the circuit the day before.

After a steady start Scott began to post some quick times towards the end of the session, good enough for an encouraging 4th place on the grid, but was prevented from going quicker still by an overheating engine as track temperature soared on the hottest day of the year so far.

In race one he settled in for a couple of laps before successful overtaking moves for third and then second place. By this time regular series winner Nick Whitehead had opened a sizable gap in the lead but Scott began to eat into it significantly reeling off several fastest laps and the eventual fastest lap of the race overall. Unfortunately Whitehead had enough in hand to hold Scott’s advance until the end of the twenty minute race by which time Scott had pulled well clear of the battle for third place.

For race two later in the afternoon the top six of the grid were reversed so Scott had to start from grid five with Whitehead on grid six. Scott made an excellent start and quickly moved from fifth to second place over the course of the first lap and then moved into the lead on lap two and began to pull a gap over the rest of the field.

Unfortunately at this point the safety car had to be deployed owning to an incident involving three cars further down the field and the experienced Whitehead who had been able to push through to 2nd place would take the restart on Scott’s tail. But Scott was wise to this and an ambitious move trying to overtake Scott on the outside saw him run wide onto the grass and Scott pulled away into a comfortable and seemingly unassailable lead of over five seconds.

But gearbox problems for Scott saw him slow dramatically over the last two laps and the hard charging Whitehead was able to close right up but Scott used to cut and thrust of single seater racing wasn’t going to leave a gap for Whitehead to get through and held on to take an impressive debut victory in the class.

Afterwards Scott said “I’d really like to thank Mark Harrison and the Atom Cup organisers for inviting me along today. This is a great way to go racing and I’ve really enjoyed myself with some great people and great competitors. I’d like to wish them all a very happy and successful rest of the season”
For more information on Scott Malvern visit www.scottmalvern.com or contact Stopwatch Management 07956885851

Barkingside Single seater champion Scott Malvern hopes that his maiden test on USA soil can lead to a professional career stateside. Scott travelled to Florida last week to spend time with USA Formula Star Mazda Champions Team Pelfrey at their workshops in Clearwater culminating in a two day test at Sebring International circuit. Despite not being used to the searing temperatures, which topped 112 degrees on track, Scott performed well over the two days and was very much on the pace.

The team already have a good record with British drivers having won the 2012 Star Mazda Championship with Yorkshire’s Jack Hawksworth who was able to move up to the next level Indy Lights Series thanks to the prize money he collected for taking the title. Scott commented “I really enjoyed the test in spite of the heat which really does take some getting used to, though I coped with it much better on the second day than I did on the first. I am confident that if I was out there full time I’d be able to acclimatise without a problem and as races are held right across the whole of the USA and Canada conditions wouldn’t always be so extreme. The team were very happy with my input and my pace and we are now looking to see what can be done to get me into the car on a permanent basis. That could mean that I join them for a race or two towards the end of this season but the main focus now is really fixed towards mounting a full championship campaign in 2014”

Scott who won the British & European Formula Ford title in 2011 & The UK Formula Renault Championship in 2012 as well as collecting the coveted Autosport National Club Driver of the Year Award, previously won by the likes of Lewis Hamilton and David Coulthard, has struggled to mount a campaign in the UK this season after losing his seat at Jamun Racing after just one event at Brands Hatch at Easter. “The economy in the UK has certainly made things very difficult and people just cannot understand that I have won so much but that doesn’t automatically reward you with the right to move up to the next level. You are still required to bring finance to most teams. In the USA they pay substantial prize money and because they have the Road To Indy ladder in place the champion of any series within the structure will always move up all the way to Indycar, which includes the Indy 500, arguably along with Le Mans the most famous motor race in the world. Star or Pro Mazda as it is now referred to sits just two levels below that. The cars are very fast using the Mazda Rotary engine producing 260 BHP so roughly equivalent to our own Formula 3 but the budgets are considerably less”

Scott will also be hosting his own business networking event at Brands hatch on Friday 9th August where he will talk about his career and his recent experience in the USA.

Barkingside’s Scott Malvern endured a difficult weekend at Brands Hatch in the Dunlop MSA Formula Ford 200 Championship but still showed his pace by setting the fastest lap of all cars racing at the Easter British Touring Car meeting and a new lap record for the Indy Circuit.

With just a half day of testing prior to the two 40 minute practice sessions on the Friday warm up Scott knew that he was likely to be on the back foot and really just concentrated in getting himself dialled into the newly rebuilt car which had only been finished two days before.

Nevertheless Scott’s times in the official qualifying session were good enough to give him front row starts in 2nd place for all three races with the experienced Leeds based driver Dan Cammish taking pole position for all three races.

The signs didn’t look good when Scott’s engine wouldn’t fire up in the holding area immediately before the first race on Saturday afternoon and although Scott managed to start the car and hold third place until half distance of the race it was clear that he was down on power and eventually he cruised into the pits with a badly misfiring engine. A glitch in the computer controlled electrical system was later diagnosed.

Race two was held in extremely cold conditions on Sunday morning. Scott experienced wheel spin pulling away from the line and slipped back to third place behind Jamun team mate Luke Williams. But he soon settled into a rhythm and it was plain to see that the Contract Lift Solutions liveried car was the fastest on the track. He overtook Williams with a spectacular move going into Paddock Hill Bend on lap 7 and set off in pursuit of Cammish who by now had opened up a gap of over 4 seconds.

Relentlessly Scott pursued the leader reeling off fastest lap after fastest lap and setting a new lap record in the process closing right onto the back of Cammish on lap 23 of 26. But the superior straight line speed of the leader’s car meant that he was just able to fend off the challenge by the narrowest of margins at the chequered flag.

Unfortunately Scott’s bad luck returned for race three at the end of the day. Scott’s car was tagged by that of his Argentinian team mate Nico Maranzana and sent into a spin at Graham Hill bend. Scott had no option but to let the whole field pass before spinning his car around on the grass and setting off again over half a lap down. But very determined he again reeled off fastest lap after fastest lap on a spectacular drive through to 8th position falling just short of joining a three car battle for 5th place ahead. Dan Cammish collected his third win of the weekend.

The multiple single seater champion was philosophical in summing up his weekend afterwards. “We showed we had the speed all through the weekend but one way or another we just didn’t have the rub of the green. I’m not sure what we are going to do next. We only had enough funding for this weekend so we are going to have to re-group and see what can be done. I’d really like to thank Contract Lift Solutions and all of my other supporters for getting me here and I’m only sorry we couldn’t deliver a better set of results”

The next Dunlop MSA Formula Ford 200 Championship event is at Donington Park in Leicestershire on 20/21st April and once again there will be live TV coverage of the event on ITV4. Any potential partners interested in helping Scott get onto the grid should get in touch with Dominic Malvern on 07940.204985 or dominicmalvern@yahoo.co.ukhttp://www.scottmalvern.com/.

Barkingside’s Scott Malvern clinched his 2nd consecutive single seater championship at Silverstone last Sunday adding the ProTyre Formula Renault Championship to the Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain that he won in 2011.

Scott racing for the newly formed Cullen Motorsport Team qualified 4th out of 32 cars for both races at the weekend and took third and second placed finishes which were enough to give him the title by a comfortable margin. He also set a new lap record for the class on the Silverstone National circuit.

Racing on the popular British Touring Car bill, a huge crowd witnessed Scott’s fine achievement which was also broadcast live on ITV4. Scott said afterwards “this has been a very different campaign to last year. We were much better prepared last year, did a lot of testing pre-season and throughout the year and were pretty much unstoppable wrapping up the championship with several races to spare. This year we did a very late deal and didn’t have the opportunity to do any pre-season testing and only did minimal in-season testing. In two case I turned to compete at circuits I’d never set eyes on before (Thruxton & Croft). But we prevailed and worked hard and I’m really proud of this championship win”.

“Where we go from here I don’t know. I’d love to step up to GP3 or F3 or even look at the USA Road to Indy programme. But we are just going to have to keep pushing to see if can get the funding in place. No one can argue with my credentials now having won both of the leading junior UK single seater championships in the last two years. I’ve proved I have what it takes”.
Scott would like to thank all of his 2012 supporters including, Cullen Motorsport, Jamun Racing, SDS, Stratos Marcomm, Allied Tanks & Fabrications, Baines Leasing, Contract Lift Solutions, Jenner Contractors Ltd, Pritchard & Cowburn, and MIR Racewear.

Scott Malvern goes into the final two rounds of the Protyre Formula Renault Championship at Silverstone this weekend with a healthy but not unassailable lead. Scott says “this is the biggest lead that anyone has had all season in what has been a close and hard fought championship. All I can say is that I’d rather be in the position that I am in than any of the other drivers. My game plan will the same as it’s been all season to try to win the races”

At the last event at Donington Park, in August, Cullen Motorsport driver Scott took a win and two second place finishes, plus a fastest lap, helping him to stretch his championship lead over MGR driver Josh Webster who is the only other driver that can now challenge him for the championship.

A capacity grid of 32 cars is expected for the season finale with a very large crowd drawn in by the ever popular British Touring Cars. Win or not though Scott is happy with his season. “Some people said I was a Formula Ford specialist. Well I have proved this year that I can do it in a winged car and considering how late this deal was put together and how little testing we have been able to do I am very happy with how it has gone. I’d like to say a very big thank you to Cullen Motorsport and SDS for all of their help this year. I’m not still not certain where I go from here but I’d love to have a crack at GP3 given the chance or perhaps look at the Road To Indy scheme in the USA”.

After a difficult weekend at Croft last month Barkingside’s Scott Malvern got his Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship bid firmly back on track taking a win and two 2nd places in a bumper 28 car field that included drivers from five continents at Donington Park in Leicestershire last weekend.

Scott who won The Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship in record breaking fashion in 2011, stretched his championship lead from a slender seven point margin to a much healthier twenty three points over 2011 Championship runner up Josh Webster from Stowmarket. Scott commented afterwards “it’s been a fantastic weekend. We’ve had great weather, a very big crowd come along to watch and just the kind of results that we needed. I’m delighted and would like to thank Cullen Motorsport, Jamun Racing and Sarah Shaw for all their help. This sets us up nicely for the championship finale in a few weeks’ time”

The two final rounds of the championship will take place on the Silverstone National circuit over the weekend of 6th & 7th October supporting the very popular British Touring Car Championship and Scott’s Sunday race will be screened live on ITV4 with recorded highlights of both races being shown on the same channel later in the week.

Barkingside Formula Renault race driver Scott Malvern had not even visited the ultra-fast Thruxton circuit in Hampshire as a spectator before last weekend but that didn’t stop him taking a race win first time out and he looked set to add a second until being hit controversially from behind by his closest championship rival.

cott made a clear statement of intent when he was fastest of the 28 cars in the 15 minute warm up session. He then set the 2nd fastest time in the 20 minute qualifying session, only bettered by the experienced Josh Webster now in his third season in the Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship. It didn’t take long for Scott to pass Webster in race one and then maintain a fairly comfortable gap until the chequered flag to notch up his race victory and 5th podium in the six championship rounds held so far.

After a long safety car period in race two, Scott pulled off a near identical overtaking move on Josh to again seize the lead and looked to be in command as he set fastest lap. On the penultimate lap a move described by veteran commentator Brian Jones as “over ambitious” saw Webster run into the back of Scott sending him into a spin. Scott managed to keep the engine running and re-joined the track to recover to 5th place but with no laps left was unable to gain further places. Webster went on to win the race and with no race marshal reports filed escaped any punishment for his misdemeanour.

Scott commented afterwards “I had a really good car this weekend and I was pleased I was able to learn a circuit that was completely new to me so quickly. It was great to get another win under my belt and I was almost home & dry in race two when Josh ran into the back of me. It’s frustrating that he has benefitted from an unfair move and got away with it but overall it’s been a good weekend championship wise. I’m really looking forward to the next event at Croft next month”.

Scott who was 2nd in the championship at the start of the weekend to Seb Morris left Thruxton with a 20 point lead over Josh Webster. Morris who endured a difficult weekend drops to third in the standings.

In the first of today’s races, Malvern was the only driver to take the fight to pole-sitter Morris and was only 0.5 seconds shy at the flag. The Cliff Dempsey Racing driver also posted a new Protyre Formula Renault BARC lap record for the 1.94-mile circuit of 1m18.015 seconds (89.52mph).

Holding on to his advantage at the start, Morris built a lead of around four seconds by the end of lap six but the emergence of the Safety Car – due to some stray bodywork on the oval – eradicated his lead. At the re-start though, the 16-year-old made no mistakes and pulled away before Malvern closed the gap down to nothing during the closing stages.

Fletcher held third throughout the race and ended up over six seconds clear of the rest at the finish, the chasing pack headed at the chequered flag by Hillspeed’s Vernon who delivered a superbly impressive account of himself on his return to the series – climbing up from ninth on the grid.

Fifth placed Scorpio Motorsport driver Macaulay Walsh (Northampton) was another to make good gains in the race, moving up from eighth – having had his qualifying hopes badly affected by the red flags – to finish just 0.6 seconds clear of MGR’s David Wagner (Glasgow). The latter endured a dire first qualifying session with recurring alternator problems but he raced brilliantly from 11th to sixth.

There was disappointment for Chris Middlehurst (St. Helens, Lancashire) when a season-best fifth place qualifying performance came to nothing due to retirement on lap five. Jake Dalton (Stoke-on-Trent), meanwhile, dropped back from third on the grid to seventh and Martin Cao – now reverting to his Chinese name, Hong Wei Cao – slipped from fourth to eighth.

Webster raced through from 16th on the grid to 11th prior to the Safety Car, but damage to his front wing led to serious understeer during the second half and he slipped to 13th at the finish, losing the championship lead in the process to Morris.

Morris had greater control over round five but off the start he was put under pressure by Malvern, until the latter’s hopes of trying to stay with the pole-sitter were hit, quite literally, at Deene Hairpin when contact from Fletcher enabled Morris to pull clear. Malvern did edge to within 0.9 seconds of the leader by the end of lap seven but after that Morris set fastest lap and pulled away.

While the top three was set, although Fletcher did struggle with damaged suspension, front row starter Cao took by far his best Protyre Formula Renault BARC finish with fourth place after a coming together between Walsh and Antel’s Ivan Taranov. An inspired Vernon scythed his way into fifth from 17th on the grid while American Trent Hindman, who isn’t eligible to score, took sixth.

“I thought I might put Seb [Morris] on the ropes a little bit in the second race but I got a knock from behind so that ruined my plans”, said Malvern, “I’m not sure we had the pace here, I know we got fastest lap in the first race but we were really losing out on the straights. It’s been a pretty good weekend though, there’s a long way to go and I know we’re capable of winning.”

Fletcher added: “Unfortunately I hit into the side of Scott [Malvern] when we were battling and it bent my front wishbone, that’s why our pace dropped. After that, the car was understeering badly around left-handers so it was great to get another solid third place. We just need to keep this going, hopefully avoid any DNFs, and we stand a chance of being top three in the championship.”

Webster’s horrendous luck continued in the second race. Although lining-up at the back of the grid, he put together a sensational opening lap to gain an incredible 12 places but on the fourth tour he was tagged into a spin at Tarzan Hairpin. Forced to wait for the rest of the field to pass before he could recover, the MGR racer climbed back into the top 20 to at least salvage a couple of points.

There is now a four-week break in Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship action with rounds six and seven of the 2012 season taking place at Thruxton Circuit in Hampshire, the headquarters of the British Automobile Racing Club, on Sunday, 17th June.

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